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JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ January 13, 1863. 



CULTURE OF THE GENUS BOSSLEA. 



The Bossiaras are a family of leguminous plants, chiefly from 

 Australia and Swan River, some of them remarkable for a 

 singularly elegant habit of growth, and the whole of them for 

 the very profuse manner in which their flowers are produced. 

 Unfortunately moBt of them produce flowers nearly of the same 

 colour, and hence they are not so much cultivated in collections 

 as they otherwise would be; but some of the species being 

 remarkably distinct in foliage and habit, and forming, when 

 properly grown, very elegant specimens, are worthy of consider- 

 ably more attention than they are receiving at the present time. 

 Their cultivation is very simple ; the secret of producing fine 

 specimens being that of laying a good foundation, for without 

 that it will be impossible to produce a fine plant. To this end 

 procure, when purchasing plants, the 

 strongest you can meet with in the 

 nurseries. When we say the strongest, 

 we do not mean plants 12 or 18 

 inches in height with a few branches, 

 but short bushy fellows ; and if the 

 collar, or part of the plant just above 

 the soil, is as thick as your finger, 

 and the plant is healthy, and the 

 rootB vigorous, you may make sure 

 you have a good plant. It may be 

 remarked en passant that the pre- 

 ceding criterion of a good plant may 

 be taken as a safe guide in purchas- 

 ing plants of all kinds, more espe- 

 cially hardwooded plants ; for if they 

 are dwarf and healthy, and have, 

 moreover, strong stems, you may 

 make Bure that whether they be 

 large or small, they have been well 

 propagated, and well cared for after- 

 wards. 



Having procured such, take some 

 good fibrous turfy peat, such as 

 those who understand plant-growing 

 procure from Wimbledon Common, 

 and after removing the inert soil, or 

 sand, as it is sometimes called, from 

 the bottom, and the coarse vegetable 

 matter from the upper surface, break 

 it into small pieces, and then pass 

 every part through a half-inch sieve ; 

 to four parts of this, add one of nice 

 mellow, fibrous, turfy loam, two of 

 gritty Band, and one of charcoal and 

 potsherds, broken to the size of hazel 

 nuts ; mix these intimately together, 

 and then they are ready for use. 

 Next procure some clean porous six 

 or eight-inch pots, and drain them 

 thoroughly. If the plants are such 

 as we have advised you to purchase, 

 place the strongest in the largest 

 pots, and the weak ones in the six- 

 inch Bize, taking care to fit the soil 

 nicely about the roots, and to make 

 it tolerably firm ; indeed, if the compost is dry you may make 

 it as firm as you can, without resorting to the ramming process 

 of our forefathers. 



The plants should then be placed in a pit or frame, where they 

 can be kept tolerably warm and moist, shading them in mid- 

 day until they begin to grow, and taking care to syringe them 

 and shut tbem up early every sunny afternoon. Thus treated, 

 they will progress very rapidly, and some of them will probably 

 require a second shift towards September. If a frame or pit 

 cannot be spared to place them in, make the nearest approxima- 

 tion you can to the conditions required, to promote free growth 

 in the greenhouse, by keeping a part of it close ; or place the 

 plants in a vinery, or other forcing-house, where the temperature 

 is not too high, and where plenty of air can be admitted in 

 favourable weather. It will be necessary to curb redundant 

 growth by timely stopping the strongest shoots, to make them 

 branch ; but in the cultivation of Bossiseas, unless a branch takes 

 a decided- lead, nothing will be gained by stopping it, as they 

 generally, at least the majority of the kinds, produce secondary 

 or lateral shoots in tolerable abundance. 



Bossisea tenuicaulis. 



When they are first potted it will be necessary to water the 

 plants with caution, but after they are in free growth, and 

 are well rooted, a good soaking occasionally with weak liquid 

 manure, such as is produced by steeping a bushel of sheep's- 

 dung in a hogshead of soft water, to which a peck of soot and a 

 quart of guano may be added, will be of considerable service. 

 This, diluted with an equal quantity of clear water, will be found 

 excellent for plants of all kinds, providing its use is guided by a 

 practical eye, and too much is not given at one time. As s 

 general rule, if the soil is good, liquid manure Bhould never be 

 used until the pots are tolerably well filled with roots, and under 

 no circumstances to a plant that is in delicate health. To 

 expect to invigorate a sickly plant by giving it liquid manure 

 would be as wise as to expect to 

 sober an intoxicated man by ad- 

 ministering alcoholic drinks : there- 

 fore recollect in plant-cultivation, 

 overfeeding is worse than under- 

 feeding, for you may keep a plant 

 alive on short commons, but once 

 gorge the system, and a plethoric 

 habit is induced, and all healthy 

 action is at an end. We make these 

 remarks thuB plainly, not only as 

 applicable to this tribe of plants) 

 but to all plants, and to all cultiva- 

 tion : therefore inexperienced per- 

 sons will act wisely to make a note 

 of it for their future guidance. All 

 the plants belonging to this genus 

 are very Bubject to the attacks of the 

 red spider, so it will be well to look 

 them over occasionally, and after 

 syringing, if they are affected, dust 

 them over with sulphur, and let it 

 remain for a few days, when it may 

 be washed off again. 



Bossiseas may be propagated by 

 cuttings of the half-ripened wood ; 

 but, as they produce seeds very 

 readily, it is seldom necessary to 

 increase them by cuttings. The 

 seed should be sown directly it is 

 ripe in July, and the plants be 

 nursed in small pots through the 

 winter. 



In the Becond year, the established 

 plants may be grown, after they have 

 bloomed, in the open air, taking the 

 same precautions as before directed 

 as to insects, &c, and potting them 

 when necessary. 



The following aae distinct and 

 pretty species ; the engraving repre- 

 sents B. tenuicaulis : — 



S. cordifolia. — Adwarf-spreading 



shrub, with terete villous branches, 



and cordate acute, nearly sessile 



leaves. The yellow flowers are 



marked at the base of the standard with a purple circle, and 



have a dark purple keel. New Holland, introduced 1824. 



Flowers in April and May. 



S. disticha. — A dwarf shrub, rather erect in habit, with slender 

 branches, and two-ranked ovate-obtuse leaves. The flowers are 

 showy, on stalks longer than the leaves ; the standard is pale 

 yellow, with a spot of deeper yellow at the base, and bordered 

 with red — the wings stained with red at the base. Elowers from 

 April to October. Swan River. Introduced 1838. A variety 

 of this is grown in gardens under the name of B. disticha 

 plumosa. 



S. ensata. — A singular-looking upright Bpecies, with com- 

 pressed linear leafless branches, toothed along the edges, and 

 bearing the flowers from the notches. The flowers are yellow ; 

 the base and back of the standard browniBh-orange purple ; the 

 keel brownish-purple. Flowers from May to July. New Hol- 

 land. Introduced in 1825. 



-B. linophylla. — A small, slender, erect-growing shrub, with 

 compressed branches, bearing linear leaves with the edges re- 

 curved. The flowers are yellow, the standard veined at th 



